I was fingering the albums at Virgin Records in Notting Hill Gate long before everybody knew who Richard Branson was, a year and a half before "Tubular Bells," and I heard this over the in-store stereo and bought it.

Roxy Music was the band being hyped in the weekly music newspapers, which were a thrill to this American, as well as the Chelsea Drugstore, and in this summer of '72 it was all about Marc Bolan and David Bowie, who were still unknown in the U.S., and then at the end of August Roxy Music. The first two broke through in the States, Bowie bigger than Bolan, but one can argue that to this very day Roxy Music still has not made it in the U.S.

Hang in until 1:40, when the track changes, you'll be ENRAPTURED!

CHANCE MEETING

And speaking of being enraptured...

"I never thought I'd see you again
Where have you been until now"

From the advent, you're hooked, but wait until the screaming guitar beginning around :35... Your body will writhe, you'll just have to get closer to the sound.

It matters what label you're on, and whether you're a priority. And being on RCA left the Silencers not a priority and with no career, as the label was in transition. But the only records I played more in the nineties were those of Shawn Colvin, although the sound is nothing similar.

ANSWER ME

The opening track on the second album, "A Blues For Buddha," I heard this on a cassette deck in the parking lot of the Le Parc Hotel and was immediately swayed.

It was passionate radio promotion man Kevin Sutter who implored me to give it a chance, and I was immediately blown away, I wanted a CD, just to hear this mellifluous number once again.

It starts quietly and builds, like a band walking over a hill through the mist into your burg.

Why is it the music I like most has acoustic elements, why am I a sucker for a good voice, why is it the music that moves me most is never a classic Top Forty hit but stuff like "Answer Me," with its violin and infectious groove... If this is your wheelhouse it will BLOW YOUR MIND!

Forget the old guy with the challenged voice singing standards and marrying women half his age. Once upon a time, Rod Stewart was a god, our most riveting live performer, if you ever saw him with the Faces, you'll never forget it.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

SHAPES OF THINGS

Forget the Yardbirds take, upon which Jeff Beck also played guitar, this version is a mind-bending adventure that will have you leaning into the speaker just to get closer the sound. And that's what it's all about, the sound. Back when there was no production, maybe a light show at best.

The Willie Dixon cover that got no love in the "sophisticated" New York market.

I learned about this track from my college buddy John Hughes, it was all over the radio in his hometown of Kansas City during the summer of '72. That's the way it used to be, music was local, before the Internet truly turned us into a global village.

I didn't know and I didn't care. Savoy Brown never flew on my radar, did I really need to pay attention to the remnants?

YES!

Then the band released three more albums, none of which gained much traction, despite the second, "Rock and Roll," featuring a brilliant literal cover photograph by Robert Downey (Senior, not Junior, you know, the man responsible for "Putney Swope"!)

It wasn't an immediate hit. "Marrakesh Express" got all the airplay. And being in excess of seven minutes long, radio was reluctant to play the track in its entirety, the days of free format radio were dying.

So the initial Crosby, Stills & Nash album developed slowly, most of us heard it at friends' houses, at parties, and marveled at the elixir that emitted from the speakers.

There was harmony before. But not in the rock of the day. And we remembered acoustic guitars from the folk/hootenanny years. But their return here was so fresh we all broke out our instruments and tried to replicate the sound.

All this was done without Neil Young, who now gets all the accolades. But at the time, Stephen Stills was king, one can argue he still should be.

WOODEN SHIPS

"Say, can I have some of your purple berries"

Yes, we listened to this album stoned, it was the heyday of marijuana, not today's mega-powerful bud, but the multi-joint stuff that mellowed you out without putting you on the floor.

Because most people would not believe it was him, didn't know it was him and were surprised it was him when they heard it coming out of the speaker.

An instrumental, you cannot help but conduct the theoretical orchestra with your hands.

For the newbie, for the non-fan...you'll be immediately enraptured, especially as the track unfolds.

This was not the most famous track on "Hot Rats" when it appeared, but it has become so.

WILLIE THE PIMP

The English cats were not the only ones who could write an indelible riff. "Willie The Pimp" was the most famous and played track off "Hot Rats" when the album was released back in 1969, featuring the vocal of Captain Beefheart when he was still perceived as a curio, during the "Trout Mask Replica" days...this is heavy, hypnotic music.

TROUBLE EVERY DAY

From the initial double album, "Freak Out," this is Zappa's take on the Watts riots.

Purists believe the initial album is best, "This Was," the one before Mick Abrahams left. If nothing came after, Tull would be seen as English blues progenitors, but a hit changes all perceptions. There were no hits on "This Was," but I'd start here, with the signature flute intro and then the instant groove. "A Song For Jeffrey," all of "This Was," is Jethro Tull for people who think they hate Jethro Tull.

MY SUNDAY FEELING

The opening cut on "This Was," and probably the most famous. Most jam bands can't hold a candle to this.

BOUREE

The instantly accessible rearrangement of Bach's composition is the signature track on Tull's second album, "Stand Up," which did, i.e. when you opened the gatefold cover, the band popped up inside.

You know the Gary Lewis & the Playboys version, but Al envisioned it as a horn-fueled soul number and recorded it on his album "Act Like Nothing's Wrong," check it out.

LIKE A ROLLING STONE

Yes, that's Al's organ on the supposed #1 rock single of all time. He's told the story many times of how he planned to play guitar but was intimidated by Michael Bloomfield and sidled up to the organ when Tom Wilson wasn't looking and Dylan liked what resulted. The saying is "You've got to have friends," even more you've got to have BALLS!

I CAN'T KEEP FROM CRYING SOMETIMES

Back when music was not free, there were certain albums you'd see in bedrooms that you didn't own but realized were important, like the Blues Project's "Projections." Their take on Blind Willie Johnson's composition...was a sixties classic.

FLUTE THING

But this was the most famous Blues Project song, written by Kooper and featuring Andy Kulberg's flute. This track could be just as successful today. Be sure to check out Seatrain's cover...